Headed down to the Turks and Caicos in the very near future. I'll be chasing Bonefish primarily and anything else I can take on the fly. I would greatly appreciate any tips and ideas on gear and landing Bonefish. What I do have is an 8wt with warmwater WF line, and a good selection on Bonefish flies for those islands. I've heard that you have to site cast as you do with carp. I did take my first carp on the fly a few weeks ago, and hopefully that will give me some idea/practice. I am going out with a guide on full day trip. Thanks again.

__________________Mark <::::><

"We try to be perfect, but we're only fishermen. We wade out into the water, we don't walk on top of it."

I've fished a lot of the islands in the Carib. for bonefish, tarpon, & permit so I think I have some experience that can share.

You'll be fine with an 8wt with WF8F line. For flies, you'll need some crazy charlies, gotcha's, etc. Also, I'd have some some Deceivers, merkel crabs, etc. Talk to your guide before you go, so you can stock up. Most guides tie their own, or order a bunch on line to last throughout the season. Few fly shops to speak of. Also a mid arbor or large arbor reel will be a plus with 250 to 300 yards of backing, because the fish will RUN.

You want to fish the flats on a incoming tide, because bonefish & permit will follow shrimp & crabs into the skinny water. You cast to bonefish by sight fishing. Patience will be your virtue in the turtle grass. Permit will be a little bit further out in slightly deeper water on a sand bottom. You cast when you see their tails, and cast ahead of them to allow the fly to sink to the grass and then do short strip retrieves, and then wait. You want to imitate a nervous shrimmp thats trying to get away slowly and not become dinner. Look for cuts or small channels in the flats because that how the fish will come onto the flats.

Look for "nervous" water. It will be a small patch of water thats shimmering different that the surrounding flats, and indicates that a school of fish are moving onto the flats. You'll usually see the nervous water before they start "tailing." It will look like water in glass that being lightly shaken.

Before you go, practice casting into the wind! There is always wind, and it goes on-shore during the day. A lot of times, I'll use a side arm cast to keep the fly line low, to minimize the wind factor. Practice till you can cast at least 60 feet in the wind. You'll need it.

Dress for the sun with a good Bimni hat, sun lotion, long sleeve fishing shirt, and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Take plenty of water & some snacks.

Really no effects from the storm, and if anything the cooler weather we are having has really turned the fish on. I managed to catch 2 and break one off on my lunch break last Thursday. The next day I was able to fish was Sunday, and the tide was not predicted to be high enough......but I noticed it was higher than predicted Sat so I went anyway and caught one and broke one off. I saw a bunch. This time of the year is the best time for catching them on the flats.

I've fished a lot of the islands in the Carib. for bonefish, tarpon, & permit so I think I have some experience that can share.

You'll be fine with an 8wt with WF8F line. For flies, you'll need some crazy charlies, gotcha's, etc. Also, I'd have some some Deceivers, merkel crabs, etc. Talk to your guide before you go, so you can stock up. Most guides tie their own, or order a bunch on line to last throughout the season. Few fly shops to speak of. Also a mid arbor or large arbor reel will be a plus with 250 to 300 yards of backing, because the fish will RUN.

You want to fish the flats on a incoming tide, because bonefish & permit will follow shrimp & crabs into the skinny water. You cast to bonefish by sight fishing. Patience will be your virtue in the turtle grass. Permit will be a little bit further out in slightly deeper water on a sand bottom. You cast when you see their tails, and cast ahead of them to allow the fly to sink to the grass and then do short strip retrieves, and then wait. You want to imitate a nervous shrimmp thats trying to get away slowly and not become dinner. Look for cuts or small channels in the flats because that how the fish will come onto the flats.

Look for "nervous" water. It will be a small patch of water thats shimmering different that the surrounding flats, and indicates that a school of fish are moving onto the flats. You'll usually see the nervous water before they start "tailing." It will look like water in glass that being lightly shaken.

Before you go, practice casting into the wind! There is always wind, and it goes on-shore during the day. A lot of times, I'll use a side arm cast to keep the fly line low, to minimize the wind factor. Practice till you can cast at least 60 feet in the wind. You'll need it.

Dress for the sun with a good Bimni hat, sun lotion, long sleeve fishing shirt, and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Take plenty of water & some snacks.

Good luck, and let us know how you do.

Bill

Thanks for the advice kentuckytroutbum. I picked up couple decievers in chart white 1/0 tonight. Will deff post report and pics.

__________________Mark <::::><

"We try to be perfect, but we're only fishermen. We wade out into the water, we don't walk on top of it."

I've fished a lot of the islands in the Carib. for bonefish, tarpon, & permit so I think I have some experience that can share.

You'll be fine with an 8wt with WF8F line. For flies, you'll need some crazy charlies, gotcha's, etc. Also, I'd have some some Deceivers, merkel crabs, etc. Talk to your guide before you go, so you can stock up. Most guides tie their own, or order a bunch on line to last throughout the season. Few fly shops to speak of. Also a mid arbor or large arbor reel will be a plus with 250 to 300 yards of backing, because the fish will RUN.

You want to fish the flats on a incoming tide, because bonefish & permit will follow shrimp & crabs into the skinny water. You cast to bonefish by sight fishing. Patience will be your virtue in the turtle grass. Permit will be a little bit further out in slightly deeper water on a sand bottom. You cast when you see their tails, and cast ahead of them to allow the fly to sink to the grass and then do short strip retrieves, and then wait. You want to imitate a nervous shrimmp thats trying to get away slowly and not become dinner. Look for cuts or small channels in the flats because that how the fish will come onto the flats.

Look for "nervous" water. It will be a small patch of water thats shimmering different that the surrounding flats, and indicates that a school of fish are moving onto the flats. You'll usually see the nervous water before they start "tailing." It will look like water in glass that being lightly shaken.

Before you go, practice casting into the wind! There is always wind, and it goes on-shore during the day. A lot of times, I'll use a side arm cast to keep the fly line low, to minimize the wind factor. Practice till you can cast at least 60 feet in the wind. You'll need it.

Dress for the sun with a good Bimni hat, sun lotion, long sleeve fishing shirt, and a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Take plenty of water & some snacks.

Good luck, and let us know how you do.

Bill

Quick question Bill,
I was talking to an outfitters down there and they suggested I bring flats boots or water sandals. I have both, however the boots are black. What do you suggest?
Thanks again,
Mark

__________________Mark <::::><

"We try to be perfect, but we're only fishermen. We wade out into the water, we don't walk on top of it."

I would definitely wear boots! You want to wear a pair that you can walk the flats for a good part of the day, and that seal tight around the ankles to keep out sand. Nothing worse than sand rubbing your feet raw. Also, there can be stinging animals, coral, anemonies, small outcropping of rocks, etc. They should also have drain holes or fabric to quickly drain water.

Black boots should be ok, you're going to be standing in water that goes from ankle deep to knee deep so color is not a problem. I've also seen neoprene "socks" that you wear inside of flat boots. They fit tight around the ankles. I don't have any "socks" so I can't speak to their effectiveness.

Therefore, my suggestion is not to wear sandals.

I have a pair of flats boots that are made by a company called "bite", and I believe I bought those on line at Cabelas. They have worked great. Korkers used to make a pair also, and may still do so.